Monday, January 23

Our start to the New Year really has been bumpy so far.On the plus side, we added a small parrot named Binx to our family, she's a lovely little bird and full of so much personality - looking forward to training her lots of birdy tricks.

But not good, and it makes me sick even typing it out, Izzie has Syringomyelia symptoms and they've progress over the last month very quickly. She's been to the vets who are 90% sure that it's SM, but are testing for other things currently just to rule them out - but she's been started on pain relief in the meantime while we get referred to a neurologist. She has her good and bad days, and we're starting on this very long confusing road which I'm sure will be full of even more ups and downs, but I'm very confident in our vet. But who knows, there's always that 10% chance it could be something else, even maybe.

[please ignore her horribly fitted harness, we lost her other one and had to make do. She was off lead in the country park anyway!]

I'm very sorry to hear about Izzie and her possible SM. Please let me know if you need someone to talk to or bounce questions off of. Its a scary and more often than not confusing diagnosis as every case is so different. The comforting factor is that in most cases medications offer a lot of relief...its just figuring out the combination and dosages that work for her. Mylee sends nuzzles to Izzie. We know its hard.

You are fortunate to have a Vet who is knowledgeable and able to help you along. Kodee is clear of SM but is very symptomatic for CM pain. We have had enormous success with gabepentin for the first yr and recently moved over to lyrica. I aim for more good days than bad by learning to; juggle medications on bad days, recognize my dog's triggers, and finding support. I hope you will not have to go down this road, but if you do, there is so much to do that helps them get relief and enjoy their days better.